Apple Sauce Bread...Ace's Banana Bread Revisited

 

It was a recent lazy Sunday morning that I really wanted some of my homemade banana bread. The problem was I did not have bananas or canola oil. And, I really did not want to leave the apartment. I realized I may already have everything I needed to make a loaf of bread.

A few months ago I had stocked up on some applesauce with the intention of vegan baking. I knew that I could probably use the applesauce in place of the bananas with no problem. I like to use 3 bananas in my bread, which is about 1 cup smashed. I used 1 cup of applesauce in its place.

Turns out, the apple sauce made a great substitute. The apple sauce provided a mild apple flavor that was barely noticeable. For those who hate the flavor of bananas, like Z., this is a nice compromise.

I only had the issue of no oil to deal with. I have tried making my banana bread several times with yogurt in the past. I had used regular, low-fat yogurt. I was not entirely pleased with the results. The bread needed a longer cooking time due to the watery yogurt, resulting in a tough crust. My attempts at changing the amount of yogurt was not successful.

I had a container of Greek yogurt I had been holding on to for cooking purposes. Greek yogurt is a very recent discovery for me (I first tasted Greek yogurt in the last year or so). I love the stuff. Greek yogurt is incredibly thick and creamy, even the low-fat versions feel decadent.

I used 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (the same amount of oil I would have used) and was very happy with the results. I did not notice a difference in the cooking time or the moistness of the bread.

I made one more change to this bread: I added 1/2 cup oats to the batter and sprinkled about 1/8 cup oats on top of the bread. I am kicking myself that I had not tried this sooner. I already love adding a few oats to my pancakes because they add a slight nutty chewiness to the texture.

I was surprised at how much spiced this bread needed; I did not realize how much flavor the bananas added. I included cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom in the bread. Grated nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice would be a great addition. Just a friendly reminder because I may have failed in this regard, make sure to add enough salt. Enjoy!